Super Saiyan
A Super Saiyan (超サイヤ人, sūpā saiyajin?), often abbreviated as SSJ, is a special advanced and powerful state of the saiyan race in the manga /anime of Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, and the self-parody Neko Majin Z. There are at least four levels of the state, each more powerful than the previous. Legend The Saiyan legend first introduced by Vegeta in the Freeza Saga says that every one thousand years in the Dragon Ball universe (three thousand years in the English dubbed version) a Super Saiyan is born. The story goes that one day a saiyan warrior would push the limits and change state into a superior individual. This fearsome being, a Super Saiyan, would wield exceptionally colossal power. The ability to become a Super Saiyan was once considered to be a myth, because it had not been performed for over a thousand years until Son Goku accomplished it when he was fighting Freeza on Planet Namek. Though it was a legend, it, along with the saiyans constantly growing power, made Freeza, who was considered to be the strongest being in the universe at the time, fear the saiyans enough to destroy Planet Vegeta in the hope that the Super Saiyan legend would never be complete. The only certain condition to transcend initially to the Super Saiyan level is that a saiyan must be pure of heart (Goku) or purpose (Vegeta), usually fiercely enraged, and of sufficient power. Any other conditions are unknown. As saiyans trained during the Z series, they discovered levels beyond Super Saiyan never seen before, completely unheard of. The appearance of a Super Saiyan is different in each form, more so in the fourth and final form. In the main series, all male saiyans still alive after the Freeza Saga manage to reach at least the first level during the course of the series. Akira Toriyama's reason for never having any female Super Saiyans was that neither Pan nor Bra had the incentive to transform, and that he never drew female Super Saiyans because he couldn't figure out what they would look like. The DBGT Perfect File implied Pan had the potential to transform and might have become a type of Super Saiyan never seen before. Levels False Super Saiyan False Super Saiyan (擬似超サイヤ人, Giji Sûpâ Saiyajin) is a partially transformed Super Saiyan; and serves as a mid-point between the saiyan's regular form and Super Saiyan form. Certain features such as elevated hair, no apparent pupils, and a golden aura are evident (though the aura is more erratic and uncontrolled than in the full transformation, as well as the hair being reddish rather than gold along with not holding its position as rigidly) however; this is only just part of the full transformation. Users do not seem to be in complete control while in this state. The reason the user reaches this form is that they have the rage and need to transform but lack the necessary power level. This form cannot be retained for very long since stress can build-up enormously from the lack of complete transformation needed to maintain stability of the power as seen in the film Lord Slug. This isn't the actual name of the transformation used in the film, where it is referred "Super Saiyan" form. Dragon Ball Daizenshu #7 introduces the name to cover the discrepancies between the Super Saiyan transformation in the film and the actual Super Saiyan form in the manga. Known users: * Goku Super Saiyan The first Super Saiyan transformation happens when a saiyan who has reached his natural limit loses himself to a fit of rage. Even though the physical change is not too drastic, the power increase is colossal. The most noticeable change is that the hair is now a golden yellow and it is forced upward as if standing on end. The eye color changes to green and the muscles become more defined and toned. The Super Saiyan aura becomes steadily dancing waves of thick yellow flame. Behavioral change is also quite noticeable, the saiyan becomes more aggressive and temperamental than usual. The first saiyan seen to reach Super Saiyan in the series is Goku when fighting Freeza. Through training, the negative effects of the transformation can be suppressed and controlled, resulting in a Super Saiyan who can suppress his energy and act normal as if he was not transformed. (See below, Full-Power Super Saiyan.) It was theorized in Dragon Ball Z movie Super Android 13 that these Super Saiyan transformations prevented Goku from performing his Genki Dama technique. One must be pure of heart to perform the technique, and as a Super Saiyan, Goku's heart is full of rage. In the film, when Goku became a Super Saiyan after gathering power for a Genki Dama, he lost control of the energy and instead absorbed it into himself. Known users: * Son Goku * Future Trunks * Vegeta * Son Gohan * Future Gohan * Broly * Son Goten * Trunks * Gotenks * Gogeta * Vegeto * Son Goku Jr. * Vegeta Jr. * Onio Super Saiyan 2nd Grade/Ascended Super Saiyan Super Saiyan 2nd Grade (超サイヤ人第２段階, Sûpâ Saiya-jin dai ni-dankai) or Ascended Super Saiyan is a form reached when Super Saiyans train hard, they surpass their basic limits of their original Super Saiyan powers. This state appears as a Super Saiyan, but with longer, finer hair that spikes further on end, making it more defined. The muscle mass on a saiyan also significantly increases, which, however, isn't enough to slow the saiyan down like the next level, Super Saiyan 3rd Grade, and the saiyan is still able to move surprisingly fast. The aura changes from a gentle wave of thick yellow/orange flame pushing-off the corona of the aura to an uncontrolled torrent of fire; fierce waves of flame rising high and dancing around. The behavioral changes from the original Super Saiyan level to this one are apparent--this state is known for its increased aggression, even from the original Super Saiyan state. Super Saiyan 2nd Grade isn't considered an ascended state of Super Saiyan because the same weaknesses and inhabitation's still apply. It is considered to be a point in between the original Super Saiyan level and the Super Saiyan 3rd Grade. This is the form Vegeta and Trunks use for the fight with Semi-Perfect Cell. Known users: * Vegeta * Future Trunks * Son Goku Super Saiyan 3rd Grade/Ultra Super Saiyan Super Saiyan 3rd Grade (超サイヤ人第3段階, Sûpâ Saiya-jin dai san-dankai), also known as Ultra Super Saiyan, is a very muscular and powerful form of the original Super Saiyan. The raw power is close to that of Super Saiyan 2, but since this form is so muscular, the user's speed drops dramatically and consumes a vast amount of energy. This form's negatives outweigh the positives, so, even though the power increase is drastic, the saiyan will not even bother with the form due to the speed and energy loss. Perfect Cell also demonstrated that he could mimic this level of Super Saiyan. However, he explained that he lost his speed advantage and retained his 'perfect' form. This form is easy to reach through training after the achieving the previous form, Super Saiyan 2nd Grade, but is impossible to control all the physical effects. The most noticeable change is the massive muscle increase. The hair becomes spikier, and the locks spread themselves out more than the previous forms of Super Saiyan. The now very wild, radiant aura sometimes surges with bio-electricity; rigid waves of flame, almost as if a crown of fire. Known users: * Future Trunks * Son Goku * Vegeta (by his own claim) Full-Power Super Saiyan This form was thought by Goku to help battle Cell during the Cell Saga. The form is reached by mastering every aspect of the Super Saiyan form, including the unwanted behavioral effects. To train for it, a saiyan must stay in the high-tension Super Saiyan state for extended periods of time in order for his body to suppress the effects. Goku and Gohan are the only individuals who underwent this, because they are the only ones who trained until they felt natural in the form. This grade indicates complete mastery of the original Super Saiyan form. It is unknown whether the complete mastery of a Super Saiyan form is available only for Super Saiyan and not to other higher levels of Super Saiyan forms. Full-Power Super Saiyan is not inherently more powerful than Super Saiyan 2nd Grade or 3rd Grade, but because the user is used to the Super Saiyan form, they can put more energy into their body and attacks with less strain, meaning that higher levels of power can be ascended to than with 2nd Grade or 3rd Grade. This is, of course, if time is given for the individual in this form to gather the necessary energy to power up. The hair gets much more toned than the normal Super Saiyan and the aura is a unique balance of the auras from the normal Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 2nd Grade and Super Saiyan 3rd Grade. Known users: * Son Goku * Son Gohan Legendary Super Saiyan In Broly: The Legendary Super Saiyan, the audience is introduced to Broly, the Legendary Super Saiyan. Broly's final transformation puts him in a class of his own because it is genetic. The result is a Super Saiyan with an unbelievably high power that far outclasses the power of Super Saiyan and Ultra Super Saiyan but weaker than a Super Saiyan 2. Beyond his initial Super Saiyan transformation, Broly's final form is very similar to an Ultra Super Saiyan, but with several notable differences. His size, muscle mass, strength, and speed are far beyond that of any regular Super Saiyan to the point of being ridiculous. Unlike other Super Saiyan forms that decrease energy due to effects such as fatigue, this form gradually increases his energy as a battle continues. Additionally, his irises and pupils in his eyes seemingly disappear. His seeming invincibility stems from his power and not his muscles as he possesses a vast quantity of raw energy. Known users: * Broly Super Saiyan 2 This stage is very similar to Super Saiyan in appearance, where the muscles do not receive much of an increase in their mass. Other physical changes include longer, finer, upright hair, a rounder face, and smaller eyes. The behavioral effects are the same as an un-mastered Super Saiyan and every physical change remains the same color as Super Saiyan. A saiyan reaches a new level of power when he reaches this level, resulting in a larger aura that now has a very evident blue-colored, bio-electrical field. This form was first achieved by Gohan while battling Cell. The power of the Super Saiyan 2 leaps compared to the power boost given by the Super Saiyan form. For instance against Cell and Bojack, both who can easily dominate those in the Super Saiyan level including the 2nd and 3rd grade, were easily defeated by Son Gohan in Super Saiyan 2. It too can be triggered by powerful emotions, but is generally reached through training. As seen with Gohan, when the form is first used, the user gains an almost sadistic sense of mind. One example of this happening is that after Gohan's first transformation, he wanted Cell to suffer for a while, instead of finishing him off when he could. This sadistic nature never showed up in any of the subsequent Super Saiyan 2 transformations. There is some difficulty distinguishing between the first and second forms due to their being similar in appearance, and that Toei placed lightning on random auras with no sense of consistency in the anime. In the manga, it is easy to differentiate between them due to the second form's electricity surrounding the aura. There is also some change in the user's hair that can been seen if inspected closely. Known users: * Son Gohan * Son Goku * Vegeta Super Saiyan 3 This form is the strongest of all saiyan forms in the manga Dragon Ball series. This form is quite unique compared to the other forms because of the fact that it rapidly consumes its own energy which leads to fatigue, something that makes movement less fluid and consistent. This happens so quickly that the saiyan is only able to retain the transformation for a short period of time, before the saiyan's power depletes enough to force them to resort to their powered down form. This makes the form very hard to control for the user. Only Goku and the fused body of Gotenks are shown to be able to handle the immense power that the form requires it to manifest itself. While Goku was in the Other World, he could maintain this form for as long as he liked because he had an unlimited supply of energy, but once he came back to life his limited living body could not handle it for very long. Super Saiyan 3 is characterized by very long, golden hair in full reaching down with a condensed forward strand of hair, in addition to the saiyan's eyebrows disappearing. Also it is noted that Goku's eyes have changed in that he has green eyes and pupils, however Gotenks does not have the same characteristic. The bolts of lightning flaring up and dancing about are carried over from Super Saiyan 2. This form increases power and speed even more than the Super Saiyan 2 though the boost is not as great as the leap from Super Saiyan to Super Saiyan 2. Known users: * Son Goku * Gotenks Super Saiyan 4 This is the final Super Saiyan form known to be reached; however, it was not in the original manga. The Super Saiyan 4 form can only be reached by transforming into a Golden Oozaru and then gaining conscious control over the form. Once this form is attained, it can be accessed at any point. This form was first achieved by Goku when battling Bebi Vegeta, and is only available to pureblooded Saiyans as stated by Vegeta. Somehow, the Rou Dai Kaioshin (Old Kai) knew of Super Saiyan 4 and its abilities. In this form, the Saiyan's hair changes color (in Goku's case it turned black again, and Vegeta's original hair color has a tint of brown in it), the tail is present (due to the necessity of transforming into an Oozaru before taking this form) and the body and tail are covered in some shade of red fur. A Saiyan in this form also possesses a red shadow trim around the eyes and over the eyelids. The hair is lengthened and grows wild and untamed. This form has the characteristics of a basic humanoid Saiyan and the Ape's characteristics. This is why this form has natural color hair with Ape's fur and tail. Known users: * Son Goku (black hair, gold eyes, scarlet/cerise colored fur) * Vegeta (dark brown hair, aqua eyes, blood red/crimson colored fur) * Gogeta (fiery red hair, light blue eyes, burgundy colored fur)